93145: She is not allowed to wear hijab, so how can she go out to work and meet her needs?

My question is about hijab. Women here are forbidden to wear hijab and they are treated badly in addition to the fact that they are not allowed to enter their workplaces or other places such as police stations, so they have no choice but to take off their hijab. What is the solution, especially since we have to meet our own needs and especially at work?.

Praise be to Allaah.

For a woman to wear hijab
in front of non-mahram men is an obligation that is indicated in the Qur’aan
and Sunnah and by scholarly consensus. It is not permissible for anyone to
enjoin otherwise or to prevent those who want to follow this command,
otherwise he is going against the command and laws of Allaah. Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):

“It is not for a
believer, man or woman, when Allaah and His Messenger have decreed a matter
that they should have any option in their decision. And whoever disobeys
Allaah and His Messenger, he has indeed strayed into a plain error”

[al-Ahzaab 33:36]

“And whoever contradicts
and opposes the Messenger (Muhammad صلى الله
عليه وسلم) after the right path has been shown clearly to him, and
follows other than the believers’ way, We shall keep him in the path he has
chosen, and burn him in Hell — what an evil destination!”

[al-Nisa’ 4:115]

“But
no, by your Lord, they can have no
Faith, until they make you (O Muhammad
صلى الله عليه وسلم) judge in all
disputes between them, and find
in themselves no resistance against your decisions, and accept (them) with
full submission”

[al-Nisa’ 4:65]

Secondly:

It is not permissible for a
woman to be careless about this obligation or to go out of her house with
any part of her body uncovered, unless she is forced to do so in a case of
necessity that makes that which is haraam permissible, such as if she is
summoned to a police-station, and she cannot avoid going there because that
would result in harm to herself or her property.

As for going out to work,
if she does not have to do that because what she is given by her husband or
father or other relative who is obliged to support her is sufficient for
her, then it is not permissible for her to go out to work if that will
result in her taking off her hijab.

The Muslims have to
cooperate with regard to this matter and ensure that Muslim women are
independent of means so that they are not compelled to go out in ways that
involve sin. That may be achieved by calling on fathers and relatives to
spend generously on them and to provide some useful work that women can do
in their homes, so that they will have no need to go out for any reason that
may lead to them taking off their hijab and exposing them to harm because of
wearing it.

This depends on convincing
the men that hijaab is obligatory, because many of them do not care about
that, and some of them are keen for their wives and daughters to go out and
work, and some of them will not agree to marry a woman who does not work,
even if her work means that she has to take off the hijaab. This ignorance
and shortcoming on the part of the men is one of the greatest causes of this
problem, and one of the reasons why the matter is not being resolved. We
should strive to spread this knowledge, remind people of it and train them
to follow it, so that every man will be keen to protect his family and
dependents, and will realize that he will be questioned tomorrow about this
trust – did he take care of it or not? The Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) said: “There is no person to whom Allaah entrusts the
care of others and he does not take care of them sincerely, but he will not
even smell the fragrance of Paradise.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari (7150) and
Muslim (142).

In fact, Muslims are
individually obliged to strive to remove this evil, and to adopt all the
necessary means of achieving that, through organizations and associations
etc., so as to relieve their women of hardship and enable every Muslim woman
to wear her hijab. They should not despair and give up on doing this duty.
How many rights have been restored to people by means of patience, effort
and striving.

Thirdly:

If a woman is in dire
straits and cannot find any alternative to going out to work because she has
no one to support her, and she is also forced to take off the hijab, then if
she is able to migrate to a land where she will be able to practise her
religion openly and obey the commands of her Lord, she is obliged to do so.

And from a land where
innovation is widespread. Imam Maalik (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
It is not permissible for anyone to settle in a land in which the salaf are
reviled.

And from a land in which
haraam things are prevalent, for seeking halaal is an obligation for every
Muslim.

But not everyone may be
able to migrate, and it cannot be regarded as a solution for all Muslim
women.

If a women really needs to
go out of her house to work or do some errands etc, and the matter is
limited to uncovering the face only, then we hope that there is nothing
wrong with her doing that.

But we must strive to solve
this problem completely, as stated above, by advising those who are in
positions of responsibility and asking them for this religious and personal
right. The daa’iyahs who call people to Allaah and the scholars have to
explain to the people that hijab is an obligation that Allaah has enjoined
upon the Muslim women.

It is very strange that we
see this intense war against hijab, the symbol of chastity and purity, and
at the same time we see that the door is wide open for immoral and
promiscuous women.

Be patient, O believing
women, for the reward of Allaah is precious and there will come a day in
which the religion of Allaah will prevail over all other religions.

“It is He Who has sent
His Messenger (Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم)
with guidance and the religion of truth (Islam), to make it superior over
all religions even though the Mushrikoon (polytheists, pagans, idolaters,
disbelievers in the Oneness of Allaah) hate (it)”

[al-Tawbah 9:33]

“And Allaah has full
power and control over His Affairs, but most of men know not” [Yoosuf 12:21

We ask Allaah to guide this
ummah so that people of obedience will be honoured and people of
disobedience will be humiliated, , and to help you and all the Muslim women
to adhere to hijab and give up wanton display and unveiling.